Brigitte Bardot was referred to the criminal court in Reunion for racial insults for having qualified the Reunionese of "savages", affirmed the prosecutor of Saint-Denis, Eric Tuffery, confirming an information of the Parisian . In an open letter on animal abuse in La Réunion published in March 2019 and sent by her Foundation, Brigitte Bardot described the Reunionese as "degenerate population", referring to "barbaric traditions" towards animals and a "demonic island".
"The natives kept their genes of savages", she wrote there, accusing in particular the Reunionese of using dogs as live bait to fish for the shark, or denouncing the "Indian Tamil festivals with beheadings of goats and goats in offering to their Gods".
Comments widely condemned by the government
His words, widely condemned by the government and many local elected officials, had prompted the prefect of Reunion to seize the public prosecutor. Several complaints had been filed against her. The former actress had apologized a few days later, while again justifying her anger against what she considers to be the "tragic fate" of the animals on the island. "My only wrong is to castigate the entire population by hurting those who do not harm animals. I ask them to forgive me," she wrote in a statement.
In fact, the use of dogs to bait sharks is a recurring accusation, generally coming from mainland France. The prohibited practice may have existed in the past but was only revealed twice, in 1998 and a few years later, and followed by convictions.
Already convicted five times for inciting racial hatred
Visiting Reunion at the end of March 2019 as part of her campaign for Europeans, Marine Le Pen had publicly condemned "inadmissible words" and "insults" by Brigitte Bardot against Reunionese. The actress of Contempt and of Et Dieu ... created the woman who claims her proximity to Marine Le Pen for several years and had publicly supported her during the presidential election of 2012.
The 85-year-old animal activist has already been convicted five times for inciting racial hatred, including for comments made against Muslims.